A state jury found a 31-year-old man not guilty Thursday for the murder of his friend two years ago at Kawainui State Park Reserve in Kaneohe.

Teddy Munet, wearing a long-sleeved blue dress shirt, did not speak in court, but was sent back to prison to continue his sentence for an unrelated crime after Circuit Judge Glenn Kim read the verdict.

"It’s a great day for justice," Munet’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender EdwardHarada, said after the hearing. "Mr. Munet thanks each of (the jurors) individually."

The jury deliberated four days before acquitting Munet of murdering William "Billy" Fallau, 29, who died of a gunshot wound to the back of his neck on July 19, 2012. The seven women and five men on the jury also acquitted Munet of one firearm offense and found him guilty of illegally carrying a firearm.

Munet will face up to 10 years in prison when he is sentenced for the firearm offense in November.

Deputy Prosecutor Rodney Veary said jurors probably struggled with the credibility of the state’s key witness, Kaipo Octubre.

Octubre testified that he went into the park with Munet and Fallau on the day of the shooting and saw Munet pull a gun from his pocket and shoot Fallau when Fallau turned his head.

Moments before the shooting, Fallau had been laughing and passing around a folding saw that he found on a stump, Octubre said. He said he was shocked by the swiftness and abruptness of the shooting.

Veary said the state believed from the start that the right person was charged and that the evidence would support a conviction.

"It’s very disappointing when you can’t convict who you intended," he said. "The defense was able to put up enough questions as to drug usage at the time."

Veary said Octubre had admitted to using methamphetamine at Fallau’s house and again at the park on the day of the shooting.

The state alleged that Munet shot Fallau out of jealousy because Munet found his pregnant ex-girlfriend in Fallau’s bedroom the morning of the shooting. Munet had been living in the garage of Fallau’s home.

Harada, Munet’s attorney, said medical and other evidence showed Octubre was lying.

He said Fallau had blows to the top and left side of his head. A medical examiner testified that some of the blows happened at the time of death and could have happened before the shooting.

Harada said the medical examiner also didn’t find any soot –burned particles of gunpowder ejected from the barrel — on the back of Fallau’s neck. Soot is present when a gunshot is fired within 2 to 3 feet.

Harada said Octubre testified that no one had beaten Fallau before he died and that Munet shot Fallau from less than 7 inches away.

"Right off the bat his account of what happened was proved false by physical evidence," Harada said. "We presented a lot of other evidence contradicting Kaipo Octubre."

He added, "There was a lot of doubt about this case and that’s why it took so long. If you can’t rely on the key witness on which they built their case on, to me that’s the very definition of reasonable doubt."

Harada said Munet testified that he wasn’t even at the park when the shooting happened.

There was also evidence that others wanted to harm Fallau, Harada said. A few months before Fallau’s death, someone had fired a shot at him, and Fallau possessed a bulletproof vest, Harada said.

On Feb. 20, 2013, Munet escaped from the custody of Oahu Community Correctional Center guards just before a morning pretrial hearing for Fallau’s murder.

Munet fled from a loading dock at the courthouse and tried to hijack a car. The escape prompted several school lockdowns.

Police captured Munet nearly 12 hours later, several blocks away on Waimanu Street in Kakaako. He is currently serving a 10-year sentence in connection with the escape.